Archive for December, 2010

BART riders at both the Lafayette and Orinda stations stood out in the cold, rainy weather today a bit longer than they expected and certainly longer than they hoped for.

A major equipment problem near the Lake Merritt station in Oakland caused delays on trains heading into San Francisco from the Lamorinda stations. The delays began around 8:00 a.m. and many riders were actually told they may want to get back in their cars.

The problem was fixed around 11:00 a.m. While service resumed in that direction, there were still delays for much of the day.

The local high school girls basketball teams are dominating their non-league opponents before the DFAL season tips off. Miramonte is leading the way with a 7-0 record. The Matadors have outscored opponents, 488-196. Campolindo is currently 6-0, outscoring their opponents, 428-254. While the Acalanes girls have only outscored their opponents, 168-138, it has been good enough to earn wins in all of their first four games as well.

Campolindo appears to be the best boys team thus far, compiling a 6-2 record early in the season. The Acalanes boys have experienced some success in non-league games with a 4-3 record currently. Miramonte is just 1-4 so far, but the Matadors have been close in all of their games against some strong opponents.

The rain is expected to continue through the night, keeping the roads wet and the drive times long. The forecast shows that Wednesday and Thursday will be dry with some sunshine shining through the clouds throughout the days. Enjoy the clear skies while you can.

Starting Friday, the forecast shows rain every day for a week (as far as the weather can accurately be forecasted in advance). It’s not just a “chance of rain” either, as the “chance” of rain is forecasted 60-80% every day during that week. Get your umbrellas and raincoats out. It’s going to be a wet December.

Carl Anduri was appointed the city’s mayor, replacing Brandt Andersson. Carol Federighi was appointed vice mayor. Andersson was sworn into his second term on the council. Don Tatzin was sworn into his 1,356th term (roughly).

Council is now discussing the final 2010-11 budget, including about $500,000 in cuts.

Council members and staff (and reporters!) have been here since 4:30 p.m., when the council began discussion potential “streetscape” (don’t call it a sidewalk upgrade, says city engineer Tony Coe) improvements along Mt. Diablo Boulevard between Oak Hill Road and Mountain View.

Pretty much all of the debate centered on the south side of Mt. Diablo between Mountain View and Dewing. The property owners of the shopping center worried, among other things, that a proposed wall — designed to better separate the pedestrians on the sidewalk from the parking lot — would negatively impact their parking lots. And a number of residents were worried about a proposal to ban U-turns on westbound Mt. Diablo at Happy Valley.

The council directed staff to move ahead with designing the improvements for everywhere but the aforementioned section. On that section, they asked staff to come back with more barrier options as well as more options for the Mt. Diablo/Happy Valley intersection.

Timing is important on this project, Coe said, because the city must have the design approved by the beginning of February in order to be eligible for some $1.3 million in federal grants.

The second-degree murder conviction of Susan Polk has been upheld by a state appeals court. The 2007 conviction carried a prison sentence of 16 years to life.

Polk was convicted in the 2002 stabbing death of her estranged husband, Felix Polk, on their property in Orinda.

The appeals panel rejected all appeal arguments made by Polk and her attorney, Victor Morse.

The original 2005 murder case made national headlines when Pamela Vitale, the wife of Polk’s defense lawyer Daniel Horowitz, was murdered in Lafayette. In the 2006 retrial, the case made national news again when Susan Polk chose to be her own lawyer.

The Lafayette Art Gallery is currently displaying their Winter Wonderland Annual Holiday Exhibit. The exhibit is filled with artwork inspired by the holiday season with a variety of media including paintings, photographs, ceramics and ornaments. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.lafayettegallery.net.

The Moraga Art Gallery’s current show is called “Fa-la-la-la-la!” and is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. This show also features holiday-inspired artwork with media including paintings, photographs, jewelry and holiday cards.For more information, visit http://www.moragaartgallery.com.

Santa Claus is coming to Moraga early this year to drop off some Christmas joy and presents. The Town of Moraga is organizing visits from Santa Claus for kids the nights of Dec. 15, 16 and 17.

Santa’s visits will be 15 minutes long and can be scheduled on the half hour during the hours of 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. any of the three nights. Santa will stop by, talk to the children and give each child a small gift before he heads off into the night.

Visits from Santa are $50 and are only for Moraga residents. To set up a visit from Santa, contact and register with the Town of Moraga at 925-888-7045.